Chain.



PATENTED MAY 24, 1904.

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J. M. DODGE. CHAIN.

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No. 761,034. PATENTED MAY24, '1904.

. J. M. DODGE.

CHAIN.

APPLICATION rum) APR. 1. 1904.

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UNITED STATES Patented May 24, 1904.

JAMES,M. DODGE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CHAIN.

SPEGIFICATIONforming part of Letters Patent No. 761,034, dated May 24,1904.

Application filed April 1, 1904. Serial No. 201,123. (No model-l T0 aZZwhom it concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES M. DODGE, a citizen of the United States,residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certainImprovements in Chains, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to certain improvements in chains of the typebroadly claimed in an application for patent filed by me on the 17th dayof March, 1904,Serial No. 198, 655, in which extended bearingsareprovided for the links or elements of the chain upon a'pivot pin.

The main object of my present invention is to provide means for takingthe wear at the pivot-point of chain; and a further object of theinvention is to provide a long bearing for a chain made of a series offlat elements arranged side by side; and a still further object is to soconstruct the chain that the pivot-pins shall be free to turn within thebushings, so as to prevent uneven wear of said pins. These objects Iattain in the following manner, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view ofsufficient of a drive-chain to illustrate my invention. Fig. 2 is asectional plan view on the line 2 2, Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and iare detachedviews of the end portions of two links. Fig. 5 is a detached perspectiveview of the pivotpin and the bushings. Fig. 6 is a view showing myinvention applied to a toothed chain. Fig. 7 is a diagram view of aportion of Fig. 2. Fig. 8 is a sectional view showing two links coupledtogether and illustrating my invention. Fig. 9 is a sectional viewshowing two links, one of which is forked, coupled together and providedwith segmental bushings. Figs. 10 and 11 are views of modified forms ofbushings, and Figs. 12 and 13 are sectional iriews showing diiferentarrangements of the inks.

Referring in the first instance to Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, the chain isan ordinary form of drive-chain made up of a series of flatlink-elements A and B, oneelement alternating with another in thepresentinstance, as shown in Fig. 2,the number of elements dependingupon the width of chain desired. Dis a pivot-pin crease in thebearing-surface.

coupling the series of links B to the series of links A. The pin has ahead (Z in the present instance at one end, and at the other end isarrangedto receive a washer a? and a springring 6?; but the ends of thepivot may be riveted or secured in any manner without departing from myinvention. In the ordinary construction of chains of this type the linksA and B are simply bored, and when the pivot is in position the linksrest directly on the pivot, and when strain is put upon the chain thenarrow links tend to cut the pivot and wear away more or less. In orderto increase the life of the chain, I provide segmental bushings E E,which partly surround the pivot-pin, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. Thesebushings preferably extend from one side of the chain to the other, asshown in Fig. 2, and the links A of the chain are recessed at a, Fig. 4,to receive the segmental bushing E, which snugly fits the recess, sothat there is no independent movement of the'link on the bushing. Thebushing is made of hardened metal and has its bearing upon the pivot.

the bushing E takes the bearing of the links A on the pivot, and thebushing E takes the bearing of the links B on the pivot, and, as it willbe noticed in Fig. 2, the bushings provide an extended bearingthroughout the entire length of the pivot-pin, which is free to turn inboth bearings, so that the wear will be distributed overthe entiresurface of the pin. By my invention I not only preventthe wear upon thelinksof the chain, but I make an extended bearing for the narrow linkelements, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 7, Fig. 7 being a view of thelink elements A and the bushing E detached to give an idea of the in- Ialso increase the bearing-surface by introducing washers between thelink elements, as shown in Fig. 2, when it is desired to make acomparatively wide chain.

In Fig. 12 I have shown a ditterent arrangement of the link elements.The elements A are arranged in pairs, and the elements B are placedoutside the elements A and spaced by washers 0, and other washers areplaced between the elements A and B and between the two pairs ofelements A. The washers in this instance are the same thickness as thelink elements, making a very wide chain.

In Fig. 13 I have shown another form in which the pivotpin D is reducedin diameter at each end and the links of the chain are suitably spacedso that a roller F can be mounted on the pivot-pin D, and in thisinstance one head, d", of the pivot-pin is secured to the pin by a rivet(F, and the other head, (Z is secured to the pin by a cotter In Fig. 8 Ihave shown one of the simplest forms of chains illustrating myinvention, in which the two links A and B are coupled by a pivot-pin Dextending through an opening in each link, and carried by the link A isa segmental bearing or bushing E extending into the opening in the linkB and carried by the link B is a segmental bearing or bushing Eextending into the opening in the link A.

In Fig. 9 I have shown two links A and B coupled with my improvedbushing-and-pin connection. The link A has a head (4 which fits betweenthe forks b of the link B The segmental bushings extend through the headand the forks, so that the bearing of both links is materiallyincreased, and the wear is taken by the segments and not by the links.

In Fig. 6 I have shown my invention as applied to a chain known as asilent chain-- that is, a chain in which the links A" and B have teeth(6 and 5 formed to engage the teeth of a sprocket-wheel. My invention isparticularly adapted to this chain, as the link elements are usuallyvery narrow.

In Fig. 1 I have shown plain segmental .bushings snugly fitting recessesin the links,

while in Fig. 10 I have shown the bushings provided with ribs e at theback which rest in grooves in their respective links, while in Fig. 11 Ihave shown the bushings with ribs 0 on each edge fitting in grooves ornotches in their respective links.

it will be understood that the means of attaching the bushings to theirlinks may be modified without departing from my invention.

The construction shown in Fig. 13 is fully described and claimed in theapplication filed by me April 4, 1904, Serial No. 201,497.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination in a chain, of two links, apivot-pin coupling the two links, two segmental bushings bearing uponthe pivot-pin, one bushing attached to one link and the other bushingattached to the other link, substantially as described.

2. The combination in a chain, of two links, a pivot-pin coupling thetwo links, and two segmental bushings, each link having an opening forthe reception of the pivot-pin and the bushings, one bushing beingattached to one link and the other bushing attached to the other link,substantially as described.

3. The combination of two links, a pivot-pin coupling the two links,each link having a narrow and a wide segmental recess, two bushings, onebushing fitting the narrow recess of one link and the other bushingfitting the narrow recess of the other link, substantially as described.

4. The combination in a chain, of two sets of link elements, a pivot-pinconnecting the elements, and two segmental bushings bearing links, twosegmental bushings bearing upon the pivot-pin, one bushing attached toone set of link elements and the other bushing attached to the other.set of link elements, and washers spacing the elements, substantiallyas described.

6. The combination in a chain, of two sets of link elements, a pivotpincoupling the links, two segmental bushings mounted on the pivot-pin,each link element having a wide and a narrow recess for theaccommodation of the bushings, one bushing fitting the narrow recessesof one set of link elements and the other bushing fitting the narrowrecesses of the other setof link elements, the wide recesses in the linkelements allowing suflicient play for the chain to accommodate itself toa sprocketwheel or to pass around a curve, substantially as described.

7. The combination of two links,a segmental bushing attached to eachlink, and a pivot-pin free to move upon the segmental bearing-surfacesof both bushings, substantially as described.

8. The combination in a chain, of two sets of. link elements, twosegmental bushings, one

bushing carried by one set of link elements from turning independentlyof the link, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing Witnesses.

JAMES M. DODGE.

Witnesses:

WILL. A. BARR, J 08. H. KLEIN.

